


Snuggle Bug.

by RussianSunflower3



Series: Inktober 2017 [30]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bugs, Don't sit in rivers kids, Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Inktober 2017, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Secrets, Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 14:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12559984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RussianSunflower3/pseuds/RussianSunflower3
Summary: Once every year in autumn, there's a rare kind of bug that appears from larvae buried deep in wet soil, and Iwaizumi is determined to find them so he can show Oikawa the beauty of these bugs with their rainbow iridescent shells.So determined that he tries to keep the fact that he's really,reallysick a secret.It doesn't go well.





	Snuggle Bug.

It’s cold, Oikawa thinks. Way too cold to be crawling through the forest floor, combing through fallen leaves and piles of mud in his school uniform.

“Iwa-chan, do we really have to do this right now? Can’t we go home and change first?” Crouched down against a tree and rustling through leaves at the root, Iwaizumi doesn’t even look up as he answers.

“You can if you want.”

“Great! Let’s go. I need a sweater.” He stands and brushes the autumn leaves off his trousers, turning to walk away. It takes three steps for him to realise he’s moving alone.

“... Iwa-chan?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you coming?” Iwaizumi looks up at him briefly, then back to his pile of leaves, picking through them delicately and checking each one. 

“I said _you_ can if you want. I don’t have any time to waste.” He’s so intently focused, and a soft, genuine smile tugs at Oikawa’s lips.

“The larvae won’t hatch before we get back~. Come on.”

“But I have to find them first!” It’s as close to a whine as Iwaizumi gets, and laughter bubbles out of Oikawa’s throat, tossing his head back to let it burst free. For as much as Iwaizumi is fixated on finding a specific, rare bug larvae, he can’t stop himself staring in awe at Oikawa as he laughs beautifully in the sunlight that streams through the remaining leaves, casting golden beams that highlight just how _stunning_ he is.

With a faint blush that burns his cheeks like a furnace, Iwaizumi turns back to his search for the larvae. They hatch around sunset tonight, and he only has four hours to search every moist leaf in this entire forest.

“Fine, fine, I’ll go back alone. Do you want me to bring you a sweater too?”

“Nah, I’m still relatively warm.”

“W-Warm?! Iwa-chan, it’s _freezing_!”

“You’ve always been sensitive to the cold.”

“You need a sweater or cardigan or something!”

“I’m _fine_.”

“I’ll bring the Godzilla one~.” Iwaizumi pauses, and that’s when Oikawa knows he’s won, grinning in victory and flashing up a peace sign before he jogs off, back towards the houses a ten minute journey away.

As soon as he vanishes from view, Iwaizumi slumps, pressing his forehead to the tree and breathing heavily as he tugs at the collar of his uniform. There’s a secret he’s keeping from Oikawa. He’s not just warm, he’s _boiling_.

Really, he should have stayed home today, after feeling a little icky and warm last night. But if he hadn’t come to school, there was _no way_ Oikawa would have let him come bug hunting. This was a once a year event, one that he’d somehow missed since he was eight, and he was determined to see it again before they graduated and left for college.

“Shit… Shit…” He pants, removing his blazer to try and cool down, fanning himself with one hand as his vision blurs. Honestly, Iwaizumi is incredibly surprised Oikawa hasn’t noticed yet.

Then again, they’ve been friends long enough that Iwaizumi knows very well how to keep something a secret. _Especially_ when he’s under the weather.

“Don’t pass out… Don’t pass out, just breathe…” He speaks to himself, wheezing the words out to try and keep himself vaguely conscious until he can calm the way his heart thuds his chest from where he’s been holding back and hiding it.

Hot… It’s so hot… It’s like the forest is on fire and the flames worm their way inside him, burning him from the inside out as he shivers and tries to keep his breathing under control. If he could just _cool down_ -

In the back of his foggy mind, Iwaizumi remembers the river near here, more of a brook than a river, but still a babbling stream of ice cold water. It sounds fantastic right now, and he pushes himself to his feet, stumbling through the forest and using the trees to support himself. The quiet bubbling of the river sounds like it’s roaring as he approached, head swarming.

“H- Hot…” He clumsily unbuttons the lilac Aobajousai shirt, toes off his shoes, and steps into it, carefully to avoid the rocks, even as they blur and dance in his vision. He’s been hiding this sickness a full day and a bit, his secret under lock and key thanks to his incredible acting skills around Oikawa.

But the stress of hiding his sickness has made it worsen, and now, he’s not sure he can tell left from up and right from down. Iwaizumi takes deep, long breaths in, and calm, slow exhales out. Like that, hands bunched in the material around his knees, just below the water as he sits in it, he brings his breathing back under control.

“Iwa-chan? Iwa-chan, where did you go?!” He can hear Oikawa’s voice floating through the forest, and pinches the bridge of his nose to stop the world spinning, squeezing his eyes shut to bring himself back under control.

“The river. I’m at the river.” He crawls to the side of the brook, clawing away at the dirt to make it look like he’s been searching this whole time. He even goes as far as to smear a bit of mud on his cheek, and press a shred of an autumn leaf to it.

“Iwa-... Iwaizumi, get out of that river, _now_.” The sudden deep pitch of Oikawa’s voice, paired with that tone, would usually have Iwaizumi snap into gear. Today though, he lingers.

“I’m searching.”

“It’s fucking freezing, get out of the water!”

“It’s not-”

“ _Hajime_.” He jolts. Slowly, wiping his hands off on his trousers, Iwaizumi clambers out of the water and gives Oikawa a looks as if to ask if he’s happy now, sarcastically. Oikawa narrows his eyes at him, scrutinising him, and Iwaizumi knows his secret will be discovered if he doesn’t come up with an excuse, immediately.

“Okay, so it’s a little cold, but there’s a higher chance of the larvae being in damp soil, so I thought the river was the dampest place I knew, obviously, because it’s a river, and then I wanted to get as close to the water level as possible, but at least I took my shoes off and-.”

“You’re hiding something.” Iwaizumi clamps his mouth shut. Oops. Rambling. He _never_ rambles, unless he’s excited over a find or something about Godzilla. Rambling when he hasn’t found anything is a rookie mistake he mentally slaps himself for.

“You can either tell me now, or I’ll find out.”

“...”

“I’ll find out.” Oikawa juts his chin up with a smirk as Iwaizumi guiltily avert his eyes, refusing to answer. He chalks the action up to something bug-related or romantic, and then glances at Iwaizumi’s wet clothes.

“You can’t walk around like that. Let’s go home.”

“But the larvae-!”

“Will be back next year.” He doesn’t think he’s imagining the watery sheen over Iwaizumi’s eyes as his face falls and he tries to find the words to beg to stay. Oikawa doesn’t let him think anything up before he’s stepping close, holding out the huge Godzilla sweater.

“Next year, I promise. Arms up.” Iwaizumi sighs, holding his arms above his head as Oikawa wrestles the sodden school shirt off him and tugs on the Godzilla sweater. It should keep him warm enough until they get back to the houses. Then, they can sit in front of the TV, wrapped in blankets and drinking hot chocolate, watching films on mute and making up the lines themselves. Maybe they could invite Hanamaki and Matsukawa, because it was always more hilarious with the four of them.

“There~. Let’s head home, Iwa-chan.” He keeps his voice soft because he knows _something_ is wrong. He knows Iwaizumi is hiding something, and he knows it’s something wrong. Iwaizumi keeps tripping as they walk back towards the houses, stumbling over roots that aren't even there, and he seems to be dazed, confused, and _out of it_.

“To-chan…” The childhood name - one Iwaizumi hasn’t muttered for over 10 years - instantly has Oikawa on high alert. He jogs to catch up, placing a hand on Iwaizumi’s back and leaning in, whispering close to Iwaizumi’s face.

“What’s wrong, Hajime?” His eyes are glazed over, his cheeks are flushed, and he stumbles against Oikawa, hand tightly latching onto the front of his shirt.

“I have-... I have a secret…S’a secret, so- so don’t tell ‘Kawa. You got that, To-chan?” 

“I-... Okay, Hajime. I won’t tell Oikawa.” He’s worried. He’s _scared_. Iwaizumi is almost completely out of it, reverting to childhood nicknames and acting... Strange.

“I got- I got sick yesterday… An’ I didn’t stay home cus I wanted- I wanted to show ‘Kawa the bugs…” 

“... You got sick _yesterday_?”

“Yeah.”

“Really badly sick?”

“Yeah…” Oikawa closes his eyes and grits his teeth to stop himself going off on a rant about how utterly stupid it was for Iwaizumi to be pushing himself when he’s sick, to the point where he sat in the _icy river_. It takes him a full minute to reel his anger in, drowning it in concern.

“It’s okay, Hajime, I’ll take care of you.” He takes Iwaizumi’s hand in his, peeling it off his front and holding it , left hand in left, as he walks behind Iwaizumi, gently ushering him along with his right hand on Iwaizumi’s right hip to keep him stable, keep him walking.

“Keep going, we’re almost there. It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll look after you.” To Iwaizumi, it’s just a whirlwind of colour and sounds that hurts his eyes and gives him a headache, pushed and pulled along enough to make his stomach feel like an ocean, swaying back and forth.

It only stops when he’s suddenly sitting down, on the edge of his own bed as Oikawa presses a kiss to his blazing forehead, and vanishes into the bathroom to grab a warm, fluffy towel. He returns and undresses Iwaizumi, drying him off and wrapping him up in the towel as he fetches the biggest pair of pyjamas in his wardrobe. 

“Here we go, this’ll be comfy for you.” Iwaizumi humms in response, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He’s still dazed and overwhelmed, ready to fall over on the spot and sleep however he fell into the bed. 

“S’too hot.”

“I know, I know. That’s because you’re burning up. We’ll bundle you up nice and warm, break the fever, and then you’ll be okay again.”

“Mhm…”

“Want me to cuddle with you?”

“Please, Tooru…” As Oikawa tucks his boyfriend in, making sure he’s snug and safe, he removes all but his boxers and slips under the covers to wriggle in close and wrap his arms around Iwaizumi.

“My tiny boyfriend, so frail and weak~.”

“Shut up… Just cuddle…” Chuckling, Oikawa runs a hand through Iwaizumi’s hair, pushing it back from his sweaty, flushed forehead. He places another kiss there, and then another on his nose, and finally his cheek.

“Go to sleep, Hajime.” Clinging on, Iwaizumi snuggles as close as physically possible, almost melting into Oikawa’s chest. His breath is warm but heavy against Oikawa’s shoulder, and his lips brush over his collarbone.

“Stay… Please…” Wrapping their legs around each other, Oikawa strokes his hand through Iwaizumi’s hair again, the other resting reassuringly in the dip of his back, circling his thumb through the pyjama shirt material.

“Of course. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Love you, To’...”

“I love you too~.” Iwaizumi’s eyes flicker closed, and it doesn’t take long after that for him to fall asleep, Oikawa humming a soft, relaxing tune under his breath to help aide him into dreamland. Pressed close together like this, like two puzzle pieces perfectly slotted together, the same way their interlocked fingers fitted together perfectly, Oikawa relaxes.

It might take a couple of days, and a lot of cuddles since Iwaizumi gets clingy when sick, but everything’s going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment.


End file.
